On February 17, 2016, Burt Odelson argued before the 8-member bipartisan State Board of Elections who unanimously found that a complaint filed against Kim Foxx was filed with good cause. The Board voted 8-0 to find that Kim Foxx violated the Illinois Election Code at least 3 times by failing to disclose a $25,000 in-kind contribution. Foxx filed her campaign statement of organization on June 3, 2015, when it should have been filed on February 3, 2015, when she received $25,000 in-kind contribution for a poll to test her viability as a candidate. That is a violation of section 5/9-3 of the state statutes. The fine that is called for in the law is $50.00 per business day, or a maximum of $5,000.
Further, Foxx violated section 5/9-10 of the Election Code by not filing an A-1 disclosure report within 5 business days of receiving the benefit of the contribution on February 3, 2015. The A-1 report is required to be filed with the State Board of Elections if a contribution of $1,000 or more is made to a candidate. The $25,000 for the poll the Board found is an “in-kind” contribution to Foxx. Since the date of payment was February 3, 2015, non-disclosure is a “continuing” violation, which the Board “shall” assess a civil penalty. The penalty could be as high as 150% of the total amount of the contribution (150% of $25,000 = $37,500); but in no event, less than 10% of the amount not reported, or $2,500.
The Board also unanimously found Foxx violated sections 5/9-10 and 5/9-11 of state law, which requires candidates to file quarterly reports of all campaign contributions and expenditures. Foxx failed to file a complete and accurate quarterly report by April 15, 2015. The civil fines set forth in the statutes call for a maximum of $5,000 for each report not filed.
The Board ordered Foxx to file the required reports by 5:00 p.m. on February 29, 2016, and the staff review the filings for the imposition of all applicable civil penalty assessments.
For more on this State Board of Elections decision, please click on the links below.
